Pencil sharpener



Ap 22, 1952 A; o. BASSON PENCIL SHARPENER Filed oct. 25, 1950 //'v VfA/ 70,9: ART/10A Own @4550 Patented Apr. 22, 1952 imirao STATES mm creme Arthur'owen Basses, Capital Park, Pretoria,

Tra svaal; Union of South Africa mi cationpetcbcr #3 56, InUnion of South Africa 7 claims;

This invention relates to'pencil sharpeners and provides an improved device of the kind wherein the pencil is suitably held and its ,end pointed by rotary means removing wo'o'd' obliquely so as to expose the lead in adequiately 'sup'portedand pointed form for writing or drawing.

According to the invention, means is provided for the application of a point of either the usual conical form or flat-sided chem se; as required by draughtsmen, carpenters and others", The sharpening is effected by a rotary abrasive member against which the end of the'pneil to be sharpened is applied sidew is'," or obliquely means imparting to the pencil a continuous" or intermittent rotary motion. v r I More particularly, a pencil "s ar e er corn: prises a rotary member suited to the removal of wood obliquely from a pencil to expose the lead in adequately supported and pointed form, means for presenting the pencil obliquely to; said rotary member in resilient engagementtherewith, means for rotating the pencil unif ormly'about its axis inside the pencil-presenting means while the pencil is resiliently engaged with the rotary member, and, alternatively employable to the lastmentioned means, other means for rotating the pencil about its axis inside the pencil-presenting means intermittently'in half-rotationsand means for angularly moving the pencil presenting means to disengage the encil from the'rotary" member momentarily while each half-rotation takes place. it p ,7 v

The pencil-holding, i. re. pencil-presenting, means may take the form of a spring-j awed chuck deriving either (a) a continuous rotary drive from a manually rotated member through crown and pinion or bevel or other gear wheels orthe like, such manually rotated member also driving the rotary abrasive member against which the pencil end is obliquely pressed under resilient pressure applied through the chuck, or (b) an intermittent rotary drive in half-turn stages from such manually rotated member through in,- termittently active crown and pinion, bevel, rack or other gear means; operative to rotate the'chuck while it is laterally displaced to disengage the pencil end from the abrasive member momentarily. 7 7

Other features of the invention will appear in the following description, and in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one specific construction of pencil sharpener accord-- it being-understood that any modifications and additions may be introduced ing to the invention,

Serial l$lo..l1,680 March 6, 1950 within the ambit of the claims. In these drawings:

s Figure l is an elevation of the device showing the interior; I

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on the line and in the direction of the arrows II'--I1 of Figure l, with certain parts retained in end elevatibn;

v Figure 3 is a sectional plan on of Figure 1; V

Figure 4 is a fregmental detail section on the line and in the direction of the arrows IV--IV of Figure 1 Figure 5 is a fragmental plan on line V-V of Fig'ure 2 of a gate for a change-over "mechanism included in the earlier figures;

Figure 6 is a fragmental sectional elevation of an alternative arrangement of partsof such change-over mechanism; and

I Figure 7 is a developed view of an internal part of the pencilepresentmg means.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 4 of these draw-v ings, a rotary metal disc I derives rotation through a step-up spur gear train 2 and 3 from a handcrank wound spindle 4 suitably mounted on a plate or other structure 5 which may form ojne' sicleof a casing containing the said gear tri the disc;,and major mechanism among that to be described. t

The disc I is faced at 6 on its side remote from the mounting plate 5 or the like, with sand paper; emery paper, or like sheet abrasive preferably using one of the adhesives, e. g. a rubber adhesive, which permits of ready stripping and replacement of the sheet as and when required.

Arranged concentrically with the winder spindie 4, e. g. on the inside face 1 of the spur gear thereon, i. e. the driving gear of the train the line III-III 2 and 3, are two gears of the crown wheel type,

the inner and smaller diameter one, 8, of which provides the continuous drive for ordinary (conical) pointing and the outer and larger one, 9; of which is circumferentially incomplete and with teeth provided only. over a relatively short are of a circle, for chisel pointing, these gears 8 and 9, the tooth form and pitch of which are alike, being brought into action alternatively as hereinafter explained. r

The pencilepresenting means comprises a chuck consisting of-a metal tube N3 of bore capable of accepting through it pencils up to any desired diameter, being provided with three leaf-springs l l protruding from its open end generally towards the disc [and three other leaf-springs l2 turning outwardly from its open end and back into it to point in the same sense as the leaf-springs I I, so arranged as between them to center and grip against rotation in the tube III any pencil in position in the chuck (see broken lines I3), and cause it to rotate only therewith.

The chuck tube I forms a sleeve rotatably supported inside a non-rotating carrier tube I 4 which is mounted via a web I4a on a spindle I5 in such a way as to be angularly movable on an axis converging upwardly towards and in front of the plane of the abrasive face of the disc I, the spindle itself being angled at its lower part I6 through and borne by a bearing I! in the mounting plate 5 or the like, so as to be movable angularly as to its upper part betweentwo distinct positions under a gate-change or like control, denoted generally for convenience in Figure 2 by reference I8, to move the chuck and its support bodily a short distance across the plane of the driving spur gear and bring one or other of the crown type gears 8 and 9 aforesaid into operative relation for driving the chuck.

The drive is picked up from either of the last mentioned gears by the chuck tube I0 through a simple pinion I9, toothed complementarilyto these gears and formed around a flange at its end the nearer to the abrasive disc. With the chuck system moved angularly to one of its positions, the said pinion I9 is drawn by a return spring 20, acting compressively about the lower part of the spindle I5, into mesh with the inner, 8, of the crown gears, and the chuck is then rotated continuously with rotation of the handcrank wound spindle 4; In this use the extension of the axis of the chuck will have angularly moved obliquely to penetrate the rotary abrasive face 6. Under the pressure of the spring 20 above referred to, acting laterally through the lower part of the spindle I5, on the chuck as a whole the gears then in engagement will be retained in mesh. Under the resilient action of a further coil spring 2I torsionally biasing the chuck mounting web about the upper part of the spindle I5 in the correct sense, the pencil is abraded and sharpened to the usual conical point, the latter being formed truly concentric with the axis of the pencil as the latter is itself correctly centered by the leaf spring I I and I2 of the chuck gripping about it.

With the chuck system moved by the gatechange angularly to its other position, the chuck tube pinion I9 is then drawn by the aforesaid spring 20 into a position to be acted upon by the interrupted or arcuate rack tooth system of the larger crown or like gear 9. The effective length of the rack portion and the relation of the numbers of teeth to one another are such as in each revolution of the hand crank to turn or inch the chuck tube I0 (and pencil therein) intermittently through 180, this action taking place while the chuck system is rocked away from the abrasive face 6 against its torsional returnspring 2I, so as to remove the end of the pencil momentarily from the abrasive disc face. This rocking motion is effected by a pick-up arm 22 rotatably carried at the upper end of the spindle I5. The arm has an upwardly bent and flanged end 22a which during use of the machine for conical pointing opposes the centre of the gear 3 as shown in full lines in Figure 4 and performs no function; but which when the chuck is set for its intermittent rotation is displaced from that centre into the broken-line position in Figure 4, and thus into the line of movement of 4 a suitably shaped annular arcuate cam 23 inside the smaller crown or like gear 8.

The rise of the cam oscillates the arm 22 which in turn imparts its oscillation to the chuckcarrying web I la through a tail 2222. With continuation of the hand crank rotation for a steady rotation of the abrasive disc the chuck is retained in a fixed position, i. e. against rotation, in its support while the chuck system is returned by the spring 2i to re-engage the pencil with the abrasive disc, which abrades it flat until the cam 23 and arm 22 and the arc-rack gear 9 come again into effect to move the chuck angularly and rotate the chuck and the pencil through a further For retaining the chuck tube It against rotation while the pencil is engaged against for flat abrasion by the abrasive disc a small crown pinion 24 is provided on the outside of the chuck carrier tube I4 in such a way as constantly to mesh with and to be rotated at 2 to 1 ratio by the chuck tube pinion I9 and also acted upon through a crank pin 25 by a small coil or other spring 26 tending to return the pinion 24 resiliently to one position and so as to secure the chuck-tube by reaction thereon when the arcuate rack 9 ceases to drive it round.

The aforementioned spindle i5, havingby. its angular movements to bring the teeth of the pinion I9 equally truly into mesh with either the gear 8 or the gear 9, the axis of the upper part of the said spindle must be so set, i. e. the bend of the spindle so determined, that the said axis, upwardly produced, will intersect the point of meshing of the pinion I9 with each oft and 9, i. e. will be a tangent to the tooth pitch circle of the pinion I9. Similarly the gate-determined angular movement of the chuck system will be accurately matched with the radial setting of gears 8 and 9 about the axis of the spindle and with the axial setting of gears 8 and 9 for obtaining meshing with the pinion I9, all to secure effective tooth engagement and a smooth drive.

The gate-change system indicated only generally by reference I8 in Figure 2 more particularly may consist of an arm 2'! on a. mounting boss 28 secured to the spindle I5 for angularly moving it, the arm 2! having a tail 21a movable against the spring 20 from one of the other of two connected slots 29, 30, of a gate bracket 3I on the outside of the plate or the like 5. The shorter slot 29 corresponds to drive of the chuck from gear 8, and the longer slot 39 to drive from gear 9, the slot length difference equalling the distance of axial offset of gears 8 and 9 already noted.

In the alternative construction shown in Figure 6, the spindle IS, an equivalent to the boss 28, and the arm 2! are all provided in a simple Way by bending a single length of rod to the shape shown. To admit the inner parts of the spindle into position through the plate or the like 5, the hearing I! is formed with a detachable upper half I la which is slid into place after the spindle has been passed through an opening of sufficient size above the fixed lower half. then closes that opening and is held in position on mating wedge surfaces I'Ib, I'ic by the end thrust of the spring 20. Figure 6 incidentally illustrates (as equally applicable to Figures 1, 2 and 3) the means of retaining the chuck-supporting web, the arm 22 and the spring 2| in position on the upper part of the spindle IS. A snap-ring may fit over these parts into a groove astaeas 5 I50; shown at the upper end of the spindle I5.

Referring to Figure 7, the leaf-springsl I and 12 are extensions of a singlespring steel plate of width sufficient to roll into a liner for fittin tightly in the tube 10 aforesaid, the flat extensions being first bent to the required leaf-spring shapes shown in Figures l-to 3, and the liner after insertion in place in the tube l being retained by a preformed tongue portion Ila offset so as resiliently to grip frictionally against the bore of the tube and/or over its open extremity.

The chuck leaf springs or one or more of them may be identified by colour or otherwise to assist in replacing therein for resharpening and in correct orientation a pencil which has already been provided with a chisel-type point, thus enabling wastage of the pencil and the abrasive to be minimized.

The apparatus above described may be suitably 2O encased in any way with all the described parts to the inside of the mounting plate 5 or the like enclosed, and only the winding handle and the gate-change [8 for thechuck control exposed, a single aperture into the casing for insertion of the pencil to be sharpened being sufficient; and such casing, which may comprise a transparent front portion as 5a, e. g. a clear plastic, or be provided with inspection window means, may be formed in a number of separable parts for access and the removal of waste material, for which latter purpose in particular a drawer as 5b may be provided.

The device described above with reference to the accompanying drawings lends itself well to mass production, as most of the parts can be die-cast or otherwise simply constructed in units as follows: body or casing, including bearings; gear wheel 3 with crown wheel 8, arcuate rack 9 and cam 23; spur gear 2 with disc I for mounting the abrasive; sleeve or tube [0 and pinion wheel I9; barrel or tube I4 with web Ma and bearing part; selector arm 21 and boss or knob 28; and crown pinion 24.

What I claim is:

1. In a special sharpener, a rotary member suited to the removal of wood obliquely from a pencil to expose the lead in adequately supported and pointed form, means for presenting the pencil obliquely to the rotary member in resilient engagement therewith, means for rotating the pencil uniformly about its axis inside the pencil-presenting means while the pencil is resiliently engaged with the rotary member so as to form an ordinary conical point, and, alternatively employable to the last-mentioned means, and for forming instead a fiat-sided chisel point, the combination with other means for rotating the pencil about its axis inside the pencil-presenting means intermittently in halfrotations of means for angularly moving the pencil-presenting means to disengage the pencil from the rotary member momentarily while each of said half-rotations is effected.

2. A pencil sharpener according to claim 1,

wherein said pencil-presenting means comprises a tubular chuck rotatable about the axis thereof, spring jaws associated therewith for gripping and centering a pencil passed through it, a support for said chuck, means for urging said support resiliently towards the said rotary member, and means for displacing said support between two limiting positions in a direction generally across the axis of the rotary member.

3. A pencil sharpener according to claim 1,

wherein said pencil-presenting means comprises a tubular chuck rotatable about the axis there"- of, spring jaws associated therewith for gripping and centering'a pencil passed through it, and said means for rotating the pencil uniformly comprises a gear wheel connected for rotation with said tubular chuck, and a second gear wheel operatively connected for rotation with said rotary member, said second gear Wheel meshing with the first gear wheel.

4. A pencil sharpener according to claim 1, wherein said pencil-presenting means comprises a tubular chuck rotatable about the axis thereof, spring jaws associated therewith for gripping and centering a pencil passed through it, and said means for rotating the pencil intermittently comprises a gear wheel connected for rotation with said tubular chuck, and an arcuate rack operatively connected for rotation with said rotary member, said arcuate rack meshing inter- \mittently with the said first gear-wheel for imparting half-rotations through it to the chuck.

5. A pencil sharpener according to claim 1, wherein said pencil-presenting means comprises a tubular chuck rotatable about the axis thereof, spring jaws associated therewith for gripping and centering a pencil passed through it, a support for said chuck, means for urging said support resiliently towards the said rotary mem her, and means for displacing said support between two limiting positions in a direction generally across the axis of the rotary member, said means for rotating the pencil, whether uniformly or intermittently as stated, comprising a gear wheel connected for rotation with said chuck, and, coaxially arranged for rotation in common with said rotary member, a second gear Wheel and an arcuate rack, the former of which is meshable with the first gear wheel when the said chuck support is moved to one of its limiting positions, and the arcuate rack is positioned for intermittent meshing with said gear wheel for receiving half-rotations therefrom when the chuck support is moved to its opposite limit of movement.

6. A pencil sharpener according to claim 1, wherein said pencil-presenting means comprises a tubular chuck rotatable about the axis thereof, spring jaws associated therewith for gripping and centering a pencil passed through it, and said means for rotating the pencil intermittently comprises a gear wheel connected for rotation with said tubular chuck, and an arcuate rack operatively connected for rotation with said rotary member, said arcuate rack meshing intermittently with the-said first gear wheel for imparting half-rotations through it to the chuck, and including arcuate cam means operatively connected with the arcuate rack for rotation therewith, an arm movable intermittently by said cam means and operative upon said chuck sup port to displace it against the resiliently urging means and deriving such movement during the meshing of the arcuate rack with the said first or chuck tube rotating gear wheel.

7. In a pencil sharpener having an abrasive faced rotary member, and a rotary chuck for both presenting a pencil obliquely to the face of the rotary member and rotating it about its axis, a support for said chuck enabling it to be moved between two limiting positions in directions substantially across the said face, a gatechange for effecting such movement, means for resiliently urging the chuck to press the pencil against the said face, two gear trains sharing 7 a common gear wheel rotatable with the chuck. and rendered effective respectively as the chuck support is brought to either of its said limiting positions, the non-common gear of one of said trains comprisingan arcuate rack generating intermittent rotation of the common gear Wheel, an arcuate cam operatively phased with the arcuate rack and operatively connected with the v chuck support for momentarily overcoming the resilient urging means and disengaging the pencil from the face during drive of the chuck through the arcuate rack train.

ARTHUR OWEN BASSON.

8 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED. STATES PATENTS Number I Name Date 1,504,019 Berndt Aug. 5, 1924 2,146,288 De Lisle Feb. 7, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 97,793 Austria Sept. 10, 1924 

